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Hostas need at least a month of temperatures below 40 degrees to perform well in the next growing season. The same thing happens to us. When cold temps arrive, we want to stay inside in our warm cocoons sipping hot cocoa and browsing plant catalogs. We look at the inspiring photographs and hope our gardens look as beautiful in the coming year. Instead of feeling sad that we can't do much gardening, let’s look on this time as a necessary part of our lives just as dormancy is for the plants in the garden. Like our Hostas, we need this period to rest, recuperate, and rejuvenate. When spring arrives, we will be ready to start anew as Hostas and butterflies do. We will be full of excitement and hope, ready for an even better year than the one before.
This MidSouth winter has been one of the mildest on record. Here in Memphis we've seen snow, but no accumulation on the ground. Still, Winter is not over, and there may be frigid weather, icy roads and several inches of snow yet to come. It's not unheard of to see snow as late as March. We shouldn't worry too much about that happening. If it does, it won't last long.
One of the busiest times in the garden actually begins in mid February. Our garden year will have entered late winter/early spring - the time when so many shrubs and trees should be pruned while they are still dormant. If you haven't already sharpened your pruners, you'd better do it now.
As I write this, the sun is peeking through the clouds sending shafts of light across my desk, and the temperature outside is in the 50s. It doesn’t feel much like winter, but it is… at least for a few weeks longer. Crocus, Daffodils, Hellebores, and Flowering Quince, those early harbingers of spring, are beginning to open and my Mahonia is in full bloom. But the Hostas are still resting. I think I’ll rest just a bit longer too. I’m going to need the energy, for starting just after Valentines Day I'm going to be very, very busy in the garden. Now, I’m going to go get a cup of hot chocolate, curl back up with those catalogs, and dream of the coming spring. It's about time to make those dreams a reality!
- FEBRUARY IS THE IDEAL MONTH FOR PLANTING, PRUNING AND FERTILIZING SHRUBS & TREES -
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